| Host City: Paris, France |
Format: Top two in each heat advanced to the final. |
| Date Started: July 14, 1900 |
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| Date Finished: July 15, 1900 |
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| (Competitors: 15; Countries: 6; Finalists: 3) |
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Venue(s): Catalan Cross, Boulogne Forest, Paris
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| Overview by IAAF |
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| Seven of the 15 entries were Americans, and they dominated proceedings, with five qualifiers being United States athletes. Heat winners William Moloney (51.0) and Dixon Boardman (51.2) and Harry Lee all declined to compete – the final being held on a Sunday, leaving Long, the fastest qualifier (50.4) as favourite. Holland led until the last 20m, when Long passed on the outside to win by a metre. Later that year Long ran 47.8 over 440y, which was ratified as the first one-lap world record of the IAAF era. |
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| Summary by Sports-reference.com |
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| The heats were held on 14 July, a Saturday, and the Americans dominated those proceedings, qualifying five runners for the six-man final. The final was held the next day, and three of the Americans, Dixon Boardman, William Moloney, and Harry Lee, declined to compete because of the problems with Sunday competition. |
| With only three starters, the event was robbed of some of its interest. Maxie Long had been the favorite, having won the 1898 and 1899 AAU Championship and, only the week before, the 1900 AAA title. But he had lost the 1900 IC4A title to Yale's Boardman, so Boardman's absence essentially handed Long the championship. |
| Long took the lead at the outset, followed by Bill Holland and Ernst Schultz. Coming into the final straight, as they exited the tree-bordered section of the track, Long was ahead by three yards and he finished up five in front of Holland, with Schulz a well-spent third. In a strange set of events, Long was cheered heartily by the French spectators. He was wearing the blue-and-white colors of his school, Columbia, and the French mistook this for the colors of the Racing Club de France, and thought Long was one of theirs. |
| Later in 1900, Maxie Long did some outstanding record-breaking over this distance. On 29 September he ran 440 yards in 47.8 on a one-fifth mile track. A few days later, on 4 October, he ran the same distance in 47.0 over a straightaway at Guttenberg racetrack in New Jersey. |
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Results |
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| Maxie Long set a new Olympic record in the first round with 50.4 seconds. In the final he improved his own record when he ran 49.4 seconds. |
| 400 m |
Men |
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Final |
15 July |
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| Boardman, Lee, and Moloney withdrew because the final was held on a Sunday. Long and Holland did start, however, and Long led the entire way to win by five yards, with Schultz 20 yards behind the Americans. |
| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
49.4 |
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Maxey Long |
United States |
USA |
21 |
OR |
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| 2 |
5 yds bh |
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Bill Holland |
United States |
USA |
26 |
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| 3 |
25 yds bh |
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Ernst Schultz |
Denmark |
DEN |
20 |
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| 400 m |
Men |
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Round One Heat One |
14 July |
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| This heat, featuring four American runners, resulted in an easy win for Long and the top three spots for the United States team. |
| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
50.4 |
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Q |
Maxey Long |
United States |
USA |
21 |
OR |
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| 2 |
easy win |
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Q |
Harry Lee |
United States |
USA |
23 |
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| 3 |
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Harvey Lord |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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| 4 |
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Georges Clément |
France |
FRA |
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| 5 |
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Walter Drumheller |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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| 400 m |
Men |
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Round One Heat Two |
14 July |
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| Again, an American won the heat easily. Schulz took second place to qualify for the final. |
| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
51.0 |
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Q |
William Moloney |
United States |
USA |
23 |
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| 2 |
easy win |
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Q |
Ernst Schultz |
Denmark |
DEN |
20 |
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| 3 |
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Charles-Robert Faidide |
France |
FRA |
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| 4 |
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Pál Koppán |
Hungary |
HUN |
21 |
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| 5 |
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Yngvar Bryn |
Norway |
NOR |
18 |
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| 400 m |
Men |
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Round One Heat Three |
14 July |
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| The United States runners again took all three of the top spots in this heat. |
| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
51.2 |
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Q |
Dixon Boardman |
United States |
USA |
20 |
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| 2 |
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Q |
Bill Holland |
United States |
USA |
26 |
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| 3 |
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Henry Slack |
United States |
USA |
23 |
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| AC |
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Zoltán Speidl |
Hungary |
HUN |
20 |
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| AC |
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Umberto Colombo |
Italy |
ITA |
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